Barnabus Arnasungaaq began carving stone in 1960, and was soon joined by artists such as George Tatanniq, Tuna Iquliq, Peter Sevoga, Mathew Aqigaaq and others. By the early 1970s, their efforts had blossomed to create an entirely new sculptural aesthetic. The “Baker Lake School” of stone sculpture would become known for a style that, while it adhered to naturalism, typically emphasized the stone’s mass and bulk with bulging volumes and powerful rhythms began carving muskoxen as early as 1964. Arnasungaaq’s depictions of these animals became iconic and have remained hugely popular with collectors. Amazingly, the artist continued carving, often on a quite large scale, until just before his death in 2017.

Muskox is a magnificent example of Arnasungaaq’s artistry. It was carved in 1977, some four years after the artist created the colossal example featured on the cover of the First Arts July 2020 sale (Lot 37). Impressively large as well, Muskox nonetheless captures the delicacy and quiet dignity of some of Arnasungaaq’s smaller renditions (many of which can fit comfortably in one’s hand). We are reminded of a gorgeous version, about half the size of this one, in the Sarick Collection at the AGO (see Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, 1998, fig. 83). The two works have very similar, and exquisite, textural treatments of the animal’s fur. Muskox is one of the most beautiful “Barnabus muskoxen” we have seen, in any size. It perfectly combines massive scale with elegance and delicacy and grace and stands out as a masterpiece of the Baker Lake School of sculpture from the 1970s.